Fig. 3: Age-dependent changes in RNP granule composition.

a, b Cell bodies of MB γ neurons imaged from 1–2 day- (a, young) or 37–38 day- (b, aged) old brains. GFP-Imp- (gray in a’,b’ and green in the overlay) expressing brains were stained with anti-Me31B antibodies (gray in a, b and red in the overlay). The white arrowheads point to Me31B + Imp + granules while the blue ones point to Me31B + Imp- granules. Asterisks in a”, b” indicate non-MB γ neurons that do not express Imp. Scale bar: 5 μm. c Relative proportions of Me31B + Imp- and Me31B + Imp + granules in young and aged flies. The fraction of Me31B + granules containing Imp was estimated using the JACoP plugin of Fiji (see Method), and values normalized to the aged condition. Three replicate experiments, with at least 10 samples per condition were performed and averaged. Error bar represents s.e.m. Note that no Me31B − Imp+ granules could be observed. d Left: cell body of a 38 day-old MB γ neuron expressing GFP-Imp (green) and stained with anti-Me31B antibodies (red). Scale bar: 1 μm. Magnifications of the boxed areas are shown in the lower and right panels. Intensity profiles of GFP-Imp (green) and Me31B (red) measured along the line marked by white segments are shown below magnified images. e Concentration of Me31B-GFP in granules negative (left) or positive (right) for Imp in 1–2-day-old brains. Three replicates were performed and the mean value of each replicate is indicated as a symbol (triangle). Data points were color-coded based on the experimental replicate they belong to and normalized to the values found in Me31B + Imp- granules. ***P < 0.001 (unpaired, two-sided t-test on individual data points). Source data are provided as a Source Data file.